Feedback Friday 1-29-16

Happy Friday, everyone! And... since it is that wonderful day, let's discuss a new topic, shall we?

This week, we'd like to take a poll - it's been a while for one of these, hasn't it? Vote on the poll and jump in on any further discuss below - how important is it to you to go first in a battle? Super important? Not really? Inquiring minds here at Ravenwood want to know...

Have a fabulous weekend, Wizards!

“If the Mind is like a candle, the Heart is like the sun.”
Professor Falmea
(aka Leah Ruben, your fearless Producer!)

This has been a very hot topic of debate in the community lately, and for good reason. Going first in a PVP match provides a very large edge over your opponent and in some cases it can outright hand you a free match. That being said, it's not impossible to win from second and it's very possible to lose from first. One of the suggestions I've seen made regularly to change this system is an alternating switch between who goes first/second. The person that went first last round will go second this round, and then it'll change again. I'm personally not fond of this system as it means the person going second has two moves instead of one. It'll require a lot testing and tweaking for sure. That being said, I personally feel that some kind of change is necessary, because as it stands, going first can make all the difference.

Happy Friday, everyone! And... since it is that wonderful day, let's discuss a new topic, shall we?

This week, we'd like to take a poll - it's been a while for one of these, hasn't it? Vote on the poll and jump in on any further discuss below - how important is it to you to go first in a battle? Super important? Not really? Inquiring minds here at Ravenwood want to know...

Have a fabulous weekend, Wizards!

I thinks it extremely important that I go first because that way I feel less pressured on when to put on blades and stuff and I can better coordinate what's going to happen. When I go first I feel like I have a better chance of having a nice, fun battle.

For max level PvP - if you go first your chances of winning are close to 95%. Please do something to balance the game a bit more. Right now, it is very luck based. If this continues, the game probably will last 2 more years, before 99% of the most active players quit.

I don't really care if I go first or not. I don't really tank (being Fire and Myth), I prefer to play more supportive or offensive if the situation calls for it. My favorite spot is actually the third one (star) if that adds to the answer. Conveniently enough, I chose the third option in the poll .

it really don't matter to me . if it gives me more rewards such as coins and Treasure cards , then yeah it might be more important but , then again i don't know if being First in a battle will matter anyways lol

Being first has a few disadvantages. There are plenty of times that i'm really glad I went last, because what I do undoes what the enemy team just did. So while I like to go first sometimes, it's not a requirement.

Besides, with all the cheating critters at the higher levels, who get to do stuff out of turn, I'm not sure first and last is really even a concern at all any more.

This question is somewhat open ended. To begin with, people just might misinterpret it as first position in a team fight vs your team going first turn with the turn based system. There's a huge difference between PvE and PvP contexts.

PvP is totally different. I've done so much PvP and anyone that knows me knows that I'm obsessed with it. The turn based system gives defense control to the player going first, and it's very, very advantageous. They can shield or even worse, dispel, right when you hit and they don't expect it while the player going first has the opportunity to remove dispels or debuffs before they hit. They also get to hit first, and have the opportunity for direct reaction.What is direct reaction? The player going first can react directly to the second-going player's spell cast. Right after they cast it, they can respond to it and choose their card. The player going second can't do the same, they can only react to what the player did a round before, so its delayed. This requires more skill on player two's part for prediction, and essentially, leads to an imbalance where a less skilled player wins a match simply because they went first, have the opportunity to defend and react first, and get to hit first. I can't describe the hundreds of matches I've done where this has happened so often in ranked PvP. The starting pip is a one round difference but the spells that are cast each round overrride the single pip. Matches go too fast and one round makes big difference. The starting pip isn't enough. In a Twitter Poll currently 85% of voters said that going first in PvP is a major advantage, with the other 15% saying mild advantage and no one with the opinion that going first vs going second is a little or no advantage scenario. Overall, the advantage gap needs fixes.

Your question is unclear. People are getting confused as to whether you mean first in terms of turn order or first in terms of place/position in the fight/team (i.e. you're in the second battle slot on your team rather than the first battle slot on your team), so because of this some clarification on what it is that you mean exactly by this question would be great, thanks.

Depends on the wizard I'm using. For purposes of a team. If I'm using my Jade Life then I want to go first. But if I'm using my Myth I'd rather go 3rd or 4th. For Death I like to be second, so I don't draw the agro as much, and I can feint and blade the hitter.

I prefer to go first. Then, if I am low on life, I can heal myself without worrying that my opponent will defeat me first. Also, if you go second, you may cast a super powerful spell with all your pips, and your opponent casts a 80% shield and you don't do nearly as much damage to your opponent.

I think you need to clarify your question.If you mean go first as in, we as a team get first cast against the baddies? Because some teams of wizards have been known to restart a battle as many times as needed to go first against someone like Shane Von Shane. It was this scenario I was thinking of when I voted.If you mean go first as in, order of wizards into the battle circle. Id have to say that really depends on the wizard I am playing. My storm would never want to go first, but my support wizards get pretty annoyed if they dont get to protect the team from first. Blading, healing, and shielding are so much more effective if you are ahead of the damage wizard in the casting order.

There are some fights where it helps to be first -- like Loremaster, where at least you know you won't be hit with a -40% on the attack round, or avoiding Yvengy's stuns. There are a few fights where it's better to be second, like dispelling Lord Ombra.

In PvP, first is usually good, though I have seen some players use the extra pip to advantage.

As long as it's pure chance, and 50/50 odds, the current system is fine. I'd never want any stat or mechanism that affected turn order. Keep it luck-based please, but make sure the luck is really balanced. Some of the "random" game events don't seem as random as they should be.

This question is somewhat open ended. To begin with, people just might misinterpret it as first position in a team fight vs your team going first turn with the turn based system. There's a huge difference between PvE and PvP contexts.

PvP is totally different. I've done so much PvP and anyone that knows me knows that I'm obsessed with it. The turn based system gives defense control to the player going first, and it's very, very advantageous. They can shield or even worse, dispel, right when you hit and they don't expect it while the player going first has the opportunity to remove dispels or debuffs before they hit. They also get to hit first, and have the opportunity for direct reaction.What is direct reaction? The player going first can react directly to the second-going player's spell cast. Right after they cast it, they can respond to it and choose their card. The player going second can't do the same, they can only react to what the player did a round before, so its delayed. This requires more skill on player two's part for prediction, and essentially, leads to an imbalance where a less skilled player wins a match simply because they went first, have the opportunity to defend and react first, and get to hit first. I can't describe the hundreds of matches I've done where this has happened so often in ranked PvP. The starting pip is a one round difference but the spells that are cast each round overrride the single pip. Matches go too fast and one round makes big difference. The starting pip isn't enough. In a Twitter Poll currently 85% of voters said that going first in PvP is a major advantage, with the other 15% saying mild advantage and no one with the opinion that going first vs going second is a little or no advantage scenario. Overall, the advantage gap needs fixes.

Absolutely right. In PVE I usually don't care which position I am in, but in PVP it's sooo much easier when I go first. And facing a from second, in PVP, is HORRIBLE. Like, PLEASE. Can we raise the Pip cost of Unbalance to 3 or 4? Everyone spams this spell so much it's not even funny.

So, from second, not only do I have to assess the potential of a next-round shadow enhanced spell, but the potential of a stun, as well as the potential of a dispel, as well as the potential of hitting into a shield, as well as the potential of a shield removal + buff TC like Icebird / Fire Beetle, etc. being cast on me.

I really don't like complaining, but can we make things just a bit easier for the wizards going second? It's a wonder I can win at all from second as a Balance, and that only because I have Mana Burn + Loremaster and don't hit until I have 2 of the same shield on anyway, but even then if they cast Shrike it can be darn near impossible to tank with the insane amounts of damage wizards can crank out in this meta. And yes I trained Stun Block, etc, but getting the opportunity to cast it from second without getting a third or more of my health sliced away is just one of the many problems that arise from going second, unless you're Ice.

Your question is unclear. People are getting confused as to whether you mean first in terms of turn order or first in terms of place/position in the fight/team (i.e. you're in the second battle slot on your team rather than the first battle slot on your team), so because of this some clarification on what it is that you mean exactly by this question would be great, thanks.

Great insights either way. However, my intention with the question was that your TEAM goes first, not second. I wasn't refering to the order you play ON your team (first, second, third, or fourth). Is that clearer?

“If the Mind is like a candle, the Heart is like the sun.”
Professor Falmea
(aka Leah Ruben, your fearless Producer!)

In PvP against 2 skilled players, namely in central tournaments, it is almost always crucial that you go first for a win.

Those in second have an inherit disadvantage:1. Blindly hitting to shields2. Blindly healing to infect/doom3. Unless they blindly predict correctly, have a huge bubble war disadvantage4. Opposing minions ALWAYS have at least 1 chance to attack, and can get shielded by the opposing wizard5. Blindly team healing/attacking to beguiles (hint: it doesn't work from second)6. They can't feint since the opponent can immediately react 7. In fact, they can't use ANY single hit without the fear of a shield (only exception: medusa follow-ups)8. BLINDLY HITTING INTO DISPELSAnd many, many more

So yes the first advantage matters to PvPers a lot, and some PvEers in places like Darkmoor.